A Walk Into Memory Land
by koalabear217
Summary: After a long day, Stefan goes to the Grill to have a drink, but to his surprise he finds Katherine.


A Walk Into Memory Land

It was late at night, around eleven, and Stefan had found his way walking towards the Grill. The whole day had been a complete failure. Now that Elena had her humanity back on, all she wanted to do was kill Katherine. She had focused all of her grief on Katherine, when Katherine was not the one to blame. If anything, it was Elena's fault because she had suppressed her emotions for so long. Stefan was thankful though that Elena was closer to her normal self, but no matter how much he hated Katherine, he would not let Elena kill her.

A part of him still loved her, but he would never get over the fact that Katherine had compelled him. She had manipulated him into loving her, and none of it had ever been real. It was as if he was in a daze when he had been with her. He was with her, but he wasn't. No matter how many times she told him that it was real, he didn't know if he would ever believe her, let alone trust her again.

It's not like she was an angel either. She had done so many horrible things, yet he could not judge her because if he had been in her situation, with her family slaughtered and death a certainty, maybe he would have acted as she did. Plus, it's not like he was any better. He had done some terrible things too and for no reason. How could he judge her when he was worse than her? If it had not been for Lexi, he would have never changed. Stefan was lucky enough to have someone, a friend, to pull him back to reality, and instead of judging Katherine, maybe all she needed was a friend.

As he entered the Grill to indulge in some alcohol, he sensed her presence, and quickly saw her seated at the bar. It was the one and only Katherine, the person who had just been on his mind. He knew that she knew he was there and instead of leaving the Grill, he walked up to the bar and pulled up a chair next to her. She didn't turn to look at him, but her aroma wafted onto him like a rose. He was so close to her, and he could feel the heat between them ready to burst into flames. Being within inches of her, reminded him of past memories. His memories washed over him in an instant, and he quickly returned to the present. Finally, Katherine said, "Now what are you doing here, Mr. Salvatore?" She took a sip of her drink, but did not look at him.

"What? I can't just drink a beer if I want to," he replied. She slowly turned, and faced him. Her eyes dug into his, and he could see the emotion within her dark eyes. Her curls of dark hair fell way past her shoulders, and he couldn't get over how beautiful she was.

"I wouldn't expect you to willingly approach me."

"Do you only think about yourself?" he asked suddenly angry again. Sometimes he couldn't help feeling mad at her for how selfish she was.

"Well, what do you expect me to think? You tell me countless times of how much you hate me. Is it that hard to believe that I'm a bit surprised by your attitude change?" she said. Now that Katherine explained her position, he started to understand her words better. He had been repulsive to her, and it must be shocking for her, for him to suddenly be friendly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude… it's just… I'm not used to this. The whole being friendly to you thing…,"

"Well, you aren't being very friendly in my books," she said with a playful smile.

"In your books? Since when have you been nice and kind?" he asked.

"I'm just kidding Stefan. Learn to take a joke."

"I know… I'm such an old loser, aren't I?"

"A bit," she admitted with a grin. Now Stefan started smiling, and he wanted to start laughing, but he held it in.

"I guess we haven't changed a bit... have we…," he said sadly. Katherine looked at him, her eyebrows dipping and her eyes sad.

"I guess not…," she said. She turned away and took another sip from her drink. She held the glass with both hands and looked down into the liquid, as if searching for something. Stefan felt bad for bringing up the past. It wasn't just tough on him to relive the memories.

"Hey," he said and placed his hand over hers. At the touch of his skin on hers she looked up at him with a curious look in her eyes. "You're not alone," he said firmly.

"I know," she said, "but sometimes it feels like it." The look in her eyes was painted with grief and sadness. It was as if all of her memories had flooded over her and had opened a deep wound within her. At that moment he recognized this girl not as Katherine, but as Elena. He realized that inside and outside, they were truly the same. Not exactly the same, but so similar that it made him wonder what could have ever made him turn on her.

"We all feel like that sometimes...," he said. He paused for a moment, and in that second everything seemed to stop… The silence felt comforting, and it enveloped them in tranquility if only for a little. He took a deep breath, and asked something he had not expected to ask when he had walked into the Grill, "Hey. Do you want to go for a walk?" She looked at him genuinely surprised and smiled.

"I would love to," she answered. Stefan smiled inside and gripped her hand in his. He led her out of the Grill and into the cold night.

As they walked on the streets of Mystic Falls hand in hand, Stefan felt a sense of familiarity. Just walking in the night was perfect and he needed nothing more to make him happy. Katherine looked at him with a smile and said, "You know… this is nice. We should do this more often…," He smiled sadly at her.

"Yeah… remember the good old days?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course," she said slowly. "Back then there were no rules…," He looked at her and saw a reminiscent look cross over her angelic features.

"You know… you look like an angel right now," Stefan whispered.

"Oh stop it," she giggled.

"No, really," he insisted. "The moon is shining perfectly on your skin… your eyes are bathing in the starlight… your skin looks so silky that if I touched it, you would break… your hair is resting heavenly on your shoulders and your face has this look of utter innocence… the look of an angel," he finished. Katherine was taken aback by his confessions and her breath stopped in her throat.

"Oh Stefan… you compliment me too much. It's a bit overwhelming," she admitted with her eyebrows raised and a shy smile on her face.

"I guess I do, but it's all worthy of acknowledgement," he said.

"You know… what you just said reminded me of something you said not to long ago. It is amazingly similar," she said.

"And what would that be?" he asked.

"To be exact, you said, 'I've never met a woman quite like you. I look at you and I see an angel. I touch your skin and my entire body ignites. I kiss you and I know that I'm falling in love.'" After the words were spoken, there was a silence, and they continued to walk back in the direction of the Salvatore Mansion. Everything was silent for a second, and there seemed to be an eeriness about the silence. It was almost as if, it was a signal… a message. Stefan was stunned. Those were the exact words he had spoken. He slowly began to recall the night he had said those words to Katherine. His heart ached from the memories, and he glanced over at her. She was in deep thought, her body here, but her mind somewhere else. He couldn't believe that after all those years she still remembered… still remembered his confession of love to her. Maybe he was more to her than he had thought. Maybe she had truly been in love with him.

They kept walking until they were at the door of the Salvatore Mansion. Stefan stopped as did Katherine, and he looked at her one last time. He was about to turn to open the door when she asked, "Did you mean those words?" He looked at her surprised.

"Of course I did… why wouldn't I?"

"Sometimes I can't tell if you did," she said sadly. "And sometimes even when I think you did mean them… I wonder if you regret saying them…" She turned away embarrassed by her feelings. Stefan stepped towards her and cupped her face with his right hand. His face was only inches from hers and he said, "I will always mean them." Katherine's eyes shone as she looked into Stefan's, and he suddenly leaned in and kissed her. Her lips felt as soft as clouds, and he could feel the intensity burning between them. He moved his right hand around her neck and he slid his left hand down her waist. They kissed passionately as if there were no tomorrow. He turned her around and pushed her against the doorway as they kissed. He had been aching for this for longer than he could remember. Her body pressed against his, and he just wanted to hold her close to him forever. Hold her and never let go. He turned the doorknob and opened the door. They entered the mansion and continued to kiss through the hallways, all the way, until they reached the bedroom.

"I love you," Stefan said to Katherine as they kissed.

"I love you too," she moaned. Stefan threw her onto the bed, and he pulled her shirt over her head. She unbuttoned his shirt as he kissed her body, and their clothes fell down into a pile around the bed. They didn't hesitate, and when they finally finished, they laid in the bed, sweating and panting. They looked into each other's eyes and saw the love within them. They said not another word and they slowly fell asleep in each other's arms… they stayed that way until the sun rose high above the Salvatore Mansion and morning came.

*****To everyone who's following this story- I'm sorry but I will not continue this story- I have posted a new story that is also about Stefan and Katherine- It is very similar to this one but it is going to be a lot longer- If you liked this story I recommend that you read the new story I have posted- Sorry if I disappointed anyone and I hope you enjoy the new story*** **


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